Alumni Return to Alma for Homecoming 2006
Alma College alumni will celebrate 120 years of College growth and progress during Homecoming 2006.
A full schedule of homecoming events and receptions will take place
Oct. 6 through 8. Highlights include the Pizza Sam’s Night reception
from 6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 6 in the Tyler Van-Dusen Rotunda, the 11 a.m.
Saturday parade along Superior Street, the noon all-alumni picnic on
the chapel lawn, and the 1:30 p.m. football game against Hope College.
The Alma College Choirs join with former choir members for the annual
Homecoming Concert at 8 p.m. Oct. 7 in the Remick Heritage Center.
Alumni rehearsal begins at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free and open to the
public.
For detailed information regarding homecoming activities, visit the Web site at: http://www.alma.edu/alumni/06homecoming. The 2006 homecoming theme acknowledges the College’s 1886 founding 120 years ago.
Special homecoming guests will include the 50- and 25-year reunion
classes of 1956 and 1981, along with the Alma College Board of
Trustees, who will serve as this year’s parade grand marshals.
Four alumni will be honored during the weekend festivities:
Distinguished Alumnus Award
Mark Foster ’70 has achieved a number of prestigious milestones during
a distinguished legal career. During the Reagan Administration, he was
appointed as Special Counsel to the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo as an advisor
on trade negotiations with Japan. Earlier this year, Foster was elected
to the prestigious American Law Institute, representing one of the
highest honors to be accorded an American lawyer. In March 2006, he was
appointed to the Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Information and
Communications Technologies, Services and Electronic Commerce.
Foster practices law in California’s Silicon Valley, maintaining
affiliate offices in Washington, D.C. and Tokyo. Widely recognized as a
leading international business and trade lawyer, Foster’s legal work
has significantly opened Japan’ s markets to American high-tech
products. He has practiced international and domestic commercial and
regulatory law since 1981.
Smith Distinguished Service Award
Karen Sullivan Wollenhaupt ’87 promotes Alma College to metro Detroit
students and alumni as a founding board member of the Metro Detroit
Roundtable. Founded in 1996, the Roundtable hosts networking
opportunities for Detroit-area alumni and friends and assists current
Alma students with career exploration and personal growth. At the
group’s annual Gala last spring, more than $7,300 was raised for the
Kevin P. Scott Metro Detroit Roundtable Endowed Scholarship.
“Alma provides an atmosphere that allows students to explore different
majors and determine what they want to do with their lives,” she says.
“ I want to help support that for future generations and to help
support the people who are doing it currently – letting them how they
are doing a valuable job.”
Young Alumnus Award
Mike Pennie ’94 sells high-tech surgical devices to physicians for
ConMed Endoscopic Technologies. His journey since graduation, however,
has taken several twists and turns. He has sold sponsorships for a
Chris Evert-sponsored tennis tournament, sold corporate sponsorships
for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League, and promoted
cardiovascular and gastrointestinal drugs for Novartis Pharmaceuticals.
“Having a liberal arts background is great because I got a taste of so
many different subjects,” says Pennie. “At Alma you get more attention
from teachers, and even if I didn’t fully appreciate it at the time,
it’s a big reason I have had a successful career in marketing.”
George Hebert Lifetime Service Award
George “Cal” Kerr Jr. ’72 is former chair of the Alma College Alumni
Board and a founding member of the Metro Detroit Roundtable who has
stayed active as an alumnus because of a personal commitment to his
alma mater. “I believe in the mission of the College,” he says.
Kerr, director of administration for Avanti Press, a Detroit-based
greeting card company, is described as a leader in his community and
profession and a positive role model for students and alumni of Alma
College, according to Brian Bartes, vice chair of the Alma College
Alumni Board: “I know many people who have contributed in great ways to
Alma College. But Cal has embraced, benefited from and contributed to
the Alma experience more than anyone I know. He truly models the way
for alumni to give back to the College.”
Posted: Fri, September 29th, 2006 at 10:51AM
